August signals the return of several marquee Netflix shows. The Umbrella Academy returns for its fourth and final season. The charming Emily in Paris is back for the first half of season 4. And new shows, such as A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and KAOS, seem destined become popular shows on Netflix.
When you’re finished watching the above programs, you’ll realize countless shows on Netflix’s secondary pages are just as good, if not better, than what’s on the home page. Below are three underrated shows to save in your queue in August. Our picks include a CBS procedural, a long-running sitcom from the mid-2000s, and a survival thriller.
Fire Country (2022-)
Broadcast procedurals are still a reliable form of programming. The “case of the week” format allows viewers to jump in at any point of the season and enjoy an episode. Reddit deep dives are unnecessary. While police and medical are the most popular procedures, firefighting provides another successful template. CBS has a version of a firefighter procedural with Fire Country.
Young convict Bode Donovan (Max Thieriot) wants a second chance in life. To reduce his sentence, Bode volunteers for the California Conservation Camp Program, an organization where inmates work as firefighters. Bode is assigned to Cal Fire, the department in his hometown in Northern California. Bode messed up the last time he lived in his hometown. Cal Fire is his shot at absolution. Will he rise to the occasion?
Watch Fire Country on Netflix.
How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
Many would argue that How I Met Your Mother did not land the plane in the series finale. Frankly, it’s fair criticism. However, the discourse has gone too far, with the finale’s failures negatively affecting opinions about early seasons. Don’t make that mistake. For five to six seasons, How I Met Your Mother was a wildly entertaining sitcom with hilarious gags and a standout cast.
How I Met Your Mother follows the adventures of Ted Mosby (Josh Ratner), a New York City architect navigating the dating scene. The show is told through flashbacks, with an older Ted (voiced by Bob Saget) explaining to his children how he met their mother. Ted’s crew includes best friend Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) and his fiancée Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), Canadian transplant Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), and the womanizing Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris). Together, these five friends endure triumph, hardship, and a couple of slaps as they figure out life one day at a time.
Watch How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.
Keep Breathing (2022)
What happened to Keep Breathing? It featured a rising star in Scream’s Melissa Barrera and a veteran creator in Martin Gero (Blindspot). The survival premise hooked viewers with a plane crash in the first episode. At six episodes, Keep Breathing is a show that can be binged in a short amount of time. It’s a fine, easy-to-watch show. Back to the original question, why didn’t Keep Breathing become a huge hit?
Sometimes, Netflix shows get lost on the home page and never heard from again. Now’s your chance to rediscover Keep Breathing. Liv (Barrera) is a New York City lawyer hitching a ride to Inuvik when her private plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness. Alone, Liv must battle the harsh conditions if she wants to make it out alive. Liv quickly realizes that conquering her mental challenges might require more work than the physical ones.
Watch Keep Breathing on Netflix.
